coming up roses

I haven’t had much time to write lately, and the blog has fallen by the wayside these past few months.

And, though in the infrequent posts I do manage to get out, I mostly complain about the amount of work I have to do right now, that isn’t the full picture.

But (psych!) I’m not going to talk about all the great things that are going on right now. Instead, I’m going to talk about my fifth (sixth?) attempt at the Whole Life Challenge.

Actually, I’m not, because I don’t find depriving myself of pizza and jellybeans that interesting. Suffice to say that, for the first time in a while, I’m feeling good about my food choices and my body (although I really miss pizza and jellybeans).

I’m also really excited about these oatmeal raisin cookies. No sugar! No gluten! Whole Life Challenge friendly! They’re basically breakfast oatmeal in cookie form, so you can still enjoy eating them.

#winning.

(I may have been absent from the interwebs, but I’m still a dork.)

Healthy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Makes 24 small cookies (84 calories each).

Ingredients

quarter cup butter, at room temperature

one large overripe banana

one egg

one teaspoon vanilla

one and a half cups of quick oats

one cup of shredded coconut (unsweetened)

quarter cup almond meal

one cup raisins (I used Thompson raisins)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper or a silpat and set aside.

In the bowl of a standmixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, banana, egg, and vanilla.

Add all the dry ingredients and stir with the stand mixer on low until everything is combined. There’s no gluten, so there’s no need to worry about over-mixing!

Spoon out cookie batter onto the prepared parchment sheet, and press into a cookie shape. I kept mine to about 1.5″ round and 0.5″ high, and I got 24 cookies. I personally prefer the crispy edges on these, so I like to keep them small.

Bake for about 18-20 minutes, until the edges have browned and the centre is dry.